Knitting-machine.



No. 627,786. Patented, June 27, I899.

J. WATERFIELD.

KNITTING MACHINE.

(Application filed June 28, 1898.)

(No Model.) 5 Sheets-Sheet I.

THE 'Nuams nuns cu. wm'aurnou wAsmNuTon, n c.

No. 627,786. Patented June 27, .1899.

J. WATERFIELD.

KNITTING MACHINE.

(Application filed June 28, 1898.) (No Model.) 7 5 Sheets-Shaet 2.

TNE NORRIS PEYERS co. Pmrrcxu nuu WASHINGTON. 0. c4

No. 627,786. Patented lun 27, I899.

.1. WATYEBFIELD.

KNITTING MACHINE.

(Application filed June 28, 1898.)

(No Model.) 7 5 Sheets-Shaet 3.

Tue NORRIS vzrzns cc. vnmau'ma. WASHINGTON n c.

' Patented June 27, I899. .l. WATERFIELD.

KNITTING MACHINE.

(Application filed June '28, 1898.)

5 Sheets-Sheet 4.

(No Model.)

0,. WASHINGTON o c UNITED STATES PATENT FFICE.

JOHN WATERFIELD, OF LoNDoN, ENGLAND, ASSIGNOR or TWO-THIRDS TO WILLIAM BADCOOK AND HENRY BALDWIN EDWARDS, .OF SAME PLAoE.

KNITTING-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 627,786, dated June 27, 1899.

Application filed June 28,1898. Serial No. 684,686- (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN WATEEEIELD, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at London, England,have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Knitting- Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has reference more partioularly to knitting-machines of the kind known as knitting-looms for producing fabrics analogous to woven fabrics.

The main object of the said invention is to provide a machine of asimple and reliable character which shall be capable of producing a very great variety of fabrics, including cloths resembling the well-known diagonals.

One important point of this invention consists in so constructing the machine or loom as to cause the loops of the knitting-thread to miss or skip certain of the warp-threads, so that, for example, if a diagonal cloth be required the loops in one row are produced between alternate warp-threads, while those in the next row are produced between intervening threads.

A further important feature of the invention consists in constructing the machine somewhat after the manner of a circular-knit I ting machine and in such a way that both sets of weft-threads remain stationary and only the warp-threads revolve.

A convenient means for obtaining the desired distribution of the loops is to provide the needles with butts of different sizes and to arrange certain of the cams for operating the needles so as to miss the shorter butts velopment of one portion of the cylinder which carries the cams for operating the needles. Fig.7 shows, diagrammatically, the

detail section on the line 3/ y, Fig. 4, show ing a portion of the machine hereinafter referred to. Fig. 9 shows a convenient device for actuating the roller on which the fabric iswound. Fig. 10 shows one of the needles which are employed in the said machine. Fig. 11 shows one of the warp-guides. Fig. 12 is an enlarged view or draft of one of the fabrics made according to this invention.

The body of the machine is supported on legs A and comprises a lower platform B, built up of concentric rings, as shown in Fig. 8, and to the inneror stationary ring of which the said legs A are connected.

0 O are uprights extending from this stationary part and carrying an upper annular platform D, which supports the knitting mechanism.

E E are side bars or uprights for carrying the upper bobbins and thread-guides. These side bars'are bent or cranked, as at E, in order to permit of the warp-rollers hereinafter described revolving freely within them.

The knitting mechanism proper comprises a needle-cylinder a, arranged to revolve within a stationary cam-cylinder b, which rests upon or is formed integrally with the upper platform D.

c c are the needles, which are of the ordinary latched kind and are carried in tricks or grooves in the usual way. They are secured in their holders 0 by means of solder or otherwise, and their lower ends are each bent to form a heel 0 which takes into a corresponding recess in the holder.

0 0 Fig. 7 ,are respectively the wide and narrow butts with which the needle-holders are provided near their upper and lower ends.

61 d are the cams which raise the needles into their highest position and are hereinafter termed lifting-cams. Of these cams those marked d are considerably thicker than those marked at, the purpose of this being to obtain the varied distribution of the loops in the manner above referred to.

(2 care cams which are of the same thickness as the cams d and move the needles downward after they have been raised-by the lifting-cams.

Both kinds of cams consist of interchangeable triangular blocks secured to the cam-cylinder by screws and are so arranged that a cam groove or path f is formed between them for the butts of the needles to enter.

The points of the cams e are shaped as at 6 to enable the butts of the needles to pass them more easily. The points (Z of the cams cl (1 are also removed to prevent the needles being thrown too high.

The revolution of the needle-cylinder carries the needles past the cams in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 6, with the result that while the thick lifting-cams d act on both the wide and the narrow butts c c the thin cams (1' only act on the wide butts 0 g are the warp-threads, which are wound upon warp beams or rollers 70. and are led to the warp-guides 11 over a cover-plate Z), supported on short pillars b fixed to the upper platform D.

The warp-beams h are mounted in brackets h, secured to a ring 70, which is provided with teeth on its under side and forms the outer part of the lower platform B. This latter is built up of three concentric rings 70 k Fig. 8, the second, is, of which is stationary, while the outer and inner ones revolve with the needle-cylinder, so that the warp-beams also travel around therewith.

To prevent the warp-threads becoming entangled, they are passed through notches in the edge of a loose ring or band g, which is connected with the ring 70 by light metal strips (not shown) or otherwise, so as to revolve therewith.

The warpguides are arranged approximately at right angles to the needles in radial tricks or grooves z" in a revolving flat ring 2' situated above the cam-cylinder. The said guides are provided with butts i which project into a cam-groove 12 (see Figs. 3 and 5) on the under side of the cover-plate b, so that as they travel around they are moved longitudinally in and out by the cam-groove. At the same time they receive a rising-and-falling motion, which is due to an inclined portion 2' on each guide Working in and out of the tricks or grooves, the mouths of which latter are partially closed by a circular band or strip i secured inside the ring 2' The purpose of the rising movement of the Warpguides is to enable their points to clear the tops of the filling-guides as they travel around, whereas the purpose of the falling movement is to cause the warp-thread to rest solid or direct on the top of the needle-cylinder at the moment the loop is being made. This is an important feature, because if the guide were kept always raised the warpthreads would be inclined when the loops were formed,and consequently theloops would be of different sizes, according to the tension on the thread, and the cloth would have an uneven appearance.

Z are the filling-threads, which are carried by bobbins Z, mounted on brackets Z on the stationary inner part or ring 70 of the lower platform. From the bobbins the fillingthreads are conducted upward by guides l and delivered just below the points of the warp-guides. These guides l are secured outside the cam-cylinderopposite those places where the needles descend to their lowest positions. The filling-threads are drawn from the guides Z by the revolution of the needlecylinder and the warp-threads and are caused to stretch themselves across the outside of these latter threads.

m are the knitting-threads, which correspond in number to the filling-threads. They are wound upon bobbins m, supported on a ring m and are conducted to the guides m in the mannershown in Fig. 1, through eyes 072 on rings m The guides m serve to deliver them at the points where the needles complete their upward movements, so that when the said needles descend they knit the threads into the fabric. It will be seen from Fig. 5 that the said knitting-threads are delivered onto the opposite side of the warpthreads to that on which the filling-threads are delivered; but by the knitting operation their loops are caused to pass through the fabric and around the filling-threads, so tying the latter in place.

The needles and thread-guides cooperate in the following manner: When the needles rise into their highest position, as indicated in dotted lines, Fig. 5, the warp-guides are thrust in between them, and as they revolve the knit-- ting-threads are drawn from the guides m and are stretched along the upper sides of the warp-threads below the hooks of the needles, the needle-latches being at this time open. Previously,however,thefilling-threads were drawn from their guides along the under sides of the warp-threads, so that as the needles ascended the said filling-threads were situated between the backs of the needles and the warp-threads. When, therefore, the needles descend, they draw the knitting thread down in loops across the filling-threads, so that the latter are firmly locked in position against the warp-threads. A little before the needles descend the warp-guides retire and pass clear of the filling-guides as they travel around with the needles. It will be seen from Figs. 3 and 6 that the warpguides 2' and the needles 0 are caused by the shapes of their operating-cams to follow a regular wave-like path as they travel around the machine.

With the arrangement of cams and needles shown in Figs. 6 and 7 the operations are as follows: On passing the cams cl the first and second needles (counting from the left, Fig.7) rise and descend, forming a loop, while the third needle remains idle, as the cams d being thin do not project far enough to engage the short butts of the third needle. On passing the next cam-viz., d in the bottom rowthe second and third needles operate, as this cam is a thick one and engages both the wide butts c and the narrow butts 0'. At the same time the first needle remains idle, as there but the second one remains idle.

rious operations are repeated continuously with a pinion t on the shaft 25.

is no cam in the upper row to engage its butt- In the next stage there is a thick cam d in the upper row, but none in the bottom row. Hence the first and third needles are operated;

These vaas the needles travel around, there being as many sets of cams as there are knitting and filling threads. The relative positions of the guides m and Z of these latter threads can be clearly seen in Fig.- 6, as can also the path followed by the points of the needle 0, which is indicated by the dotted lines. The fabric as produced is drawn down through the needle-cylinder a by means of tensionrollers n, mounted in brackets secured to the revolving ring 10 and the needle-cylinder, so that the said tension-rollers are carried around with the latter. These rollers may be operated inany convenient manner.

roller may be operated in any convenient mannersay, for example, by the device shown in Fig. 10, wherein a pawl s on a vertical sliding rod .9 is adapted to act on a ratchet-wheel r on the roller-spindle. The necessary movement of the rod 3 is produced by a pair of cams 8 Fig. 4, situated opposite one another on the under side of the stationary platform-ring 7c. These cams act on a roller 8 on the upper end of the rod 8 and depress the latter, after which a spring 5 tends to raise it into its highest position again and at the same time causes the pawl s to rotate the ratchet-wheel r, backward rotation of the said ratchet-wheel being prevented by a retaining-pawl s Owing to this arrangement undue strain on the fabric can be avoided by regulating the tension of the spring so that it will not be strong enough to operate the pawl and ratchet if the fabric be already tight.

The various revolving parts of the machine are driven from a main shaft 25 in the following manner: The ring is, carrying the warpbeams, is provided with teeth 70 which gear The needlecylinder at and the ring 2', carrying the warpguides, are provided with teeth a and i respectively, which engage a pair of pinions u on a vertical spindle it, in gear with a spindle a driven by bevel-gear 25 from the main shaft 15, which is itself actuated by means of a belt and fast and loose pulleys 15 A springactuated fork t may be provided to enable the belt to be thrown onto the loose pulley instantly, if necessary. A hand-wheel 15 is arranged at the extremity of the main shaft to enable the machine to be rotatedby hand when necessary-as, for instance, if it be required to take out a needle or a warp-guide.

Suitable means are provided to permit of these aperture in the cover-plate, which opens into 7 the cam-groove b Consequently when the fillet is removed the warp-guides lying under the same can be taken hold of with a suitable tool and removed one by one. Similarly, the wall of the cam-cylinder has a vertical slot or opening 19 beneath the fillet b through which access can be had to the needles in the needle-cylinder. The continuity of the camgrooves is, however, preserved by small studs b which are inserted in the slot 11 and act as bridging-pieces.

Referring now to Fig. 12, this shows the arrangement of the various threads and loops in the finished diagonal fabric, g being, as before, the warp-threads, Z the filling weftthreads, and m the knitting weft-threads.

I Up to the present it has not been possible to produce diagonal patterns in knitted fabrics; but according to the present invention this result is obtained by arranging the loops of the knitting weft-threads m so that those in one row alternate or break joint with those in the adjacent rows, as shown more clearly in the back view in Fig. 14. This can be readily done by the means hereinbefore described, whereby certain of the needles are caused to miss a loop while the others are rising and falling and are forming loops. In practice the weft-threads lie close together in the fabric; but in the drawings they are separated somewhat for the sake of clearness. It should be understood, however, that amachine of the kind herein referred to is not restricted to any particular pattern of cloth, as such pattern is simply a question of the particular arrangement of the cams and needles. The machine can therefore be employed for producing all the ordinary patterns that have been usually produced on the so-called knitting-looms; but in addition it can also be employed for producing diagonals in the manner described.

Having now described my said invention, I claim- 1. In a knitting-loom, the combination of a needle-cylinder and means for revolving it, a circular series of needles, a stationary cameylinder inside which said needles travel, radially-arranged warp-guides revolving with said needles, and means for operating said warp-guides, substantially as described.

2. In a knitting-loom, the combination of a needle-cylinder and means for revolving it, a circular series of needles, a stationary camcylinder inside which said needles travel,

warp-guides revolving with said needles, and

3. In a knitting-loom, the combination of a needle-cylinder and means for revolving it, a circular series of needles, a cam-ring inside which said needles travel, stationary guides for knitting and filling threads and means for insuring the warp-threads traveling with the needles and clearing said stationary guides, substantially as described.

l. In a knitting-loom, the combination of a needle-cylinder and means for revolving it, a revolving circular series of needles, warpguides revolving with said needles, stationary knitting-thread guides arranged above said warp-guides, stationary filling-thread guides alternating with said knitting-thread guides, and means for operating said needle and warp guides, substantially as described.

5. In a knitting-loom, the combination of a circular series of needles, a revolving needlecylinder carrying the same, a stationary camcylinder inside which said needles revolve, warp-guides arranged above said cam-cylinder radially thereof, means revolving said warp-guides with the needles, stationary knitting-thread guides above said warp-guides and stationary filling-thread guides projecting between the top edge of the cam-cylinder and the warp-guides, substantially as described.

6. In a knitting-loom, the combination of a needle-cylinder and means for revolving it, a circular series of needles, a circular series of warp-guides arranged approximately at right angles to said needles, means for revolving said guides with said needle-cylinder, a stationary cam for moving said warp-guides in V and out and means for causing their inner ends to rise and fall, substantially as and for the purpose described.

7. In a knitting-loom, the combination of a circular series of warp-guides, each provided with an inclined inner end, a flat revolving ring having tricks to receive said guides, a stationary cover-plate provided with cams above said trick-ring,a partially-closed mouth to each trick whereby the inclined portion on each guide imparts a rising movement to the warp-guides as they move inward, substantially as described.

8. In a knitting-loom, the combination of a needle-cylinder and means for revolving it, a revolving circular series of needles, a circular series of warp-guides, a flat revolving ring having tricks to receive said guides, a camring inside of which said needles work, two superposed series of cams in said ring, and means for causing some of the needles to be worked by the upper series of cams and others by the lower series, substantially as described.

9. In a knitting-loom, the combination of a needle-cylinder and means for revolving the same, a circular series of warp-guides, a flat revolving ring having tricks to receive said guides, a revolving series of needles composed of groups having butts of different width, a cam-cylinder surrounding said needles, two superposed series of cams carried by said cylinder, thick cams at the bottom of each series for raising all the needles, narrowcams also at the bottom of each series to miss the narrow butts of the needles, and wide cams at the top of each series for depressing all the needles, substantially as described.

10. In a knitting-loom, the combination of a revolving series of needles divided into groups of which each has its butts different from the others, guides for the latter revolving with the needles, means for moving said guides in and out and up and down, a stationary camring surrounding said needle, filling-thread guides secured to said cam-ring and leading to a point below the ends of the warp-guides, stationary knitting-thread guides above said warp-guides, and means for taking up the fabric as produced, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOHN WATERFIELD.

WVitnesses:

GEORGE ERNEST MINTERN, WALTER J. SKERTEN. 

